It appears that the team of Expedition AKOR is approaching the final days of the skiing portion of their journey.

Our friends have exceeded expectations in every way. They are travelling more than 25 km/day, so they are almost at the end. They are thrilled to finish the ski section this week. While the morning views are nothing short of breathtaking, the motivation is more present than ever to get out of this unforgiving landscape.

In addition to the exceptional quality of the ice, they have good weather. It's a little windy but still sunny, close to zero degrees during the day, and it's still clear 24 hours a day. The men have even admitted that they got sunburned after spending a whole day without a shirt.

Moreover, the men feel trapped in eternal dazzling light. This is the result of the sun reflecting diffusely on the ice and snow. They can't see very far ahead of them because there is too much light.

As the days go on, they have had many more encounters with polar bears. However, none of them put them in real danger. They are now experts at scaring polar bears. Along with this, the men are also getting much more advanced with understanding and predicting their behaviour.

The seals, which inhabit the territory, have been spotted almost every day for the past week. The new friends are a welcome sight, as they had not seen any since the beginning of the adventure.

The final push of this section of the expedition is a motivating one for the expedition team, as they can't wait to stop worrying about polar bears for a while. The morale is better than ever. They have tried several times to do 30km in one day. But a curse seems to take place...

Every time the men reach 29 km or 29.5, they encounter a bear and have to stop. So they wonder if they will ever make it to a 30km day.

All jokes aside, the ski section is coming to an end. The most challenging part of the trip will soon be behind them. The next time we hear from them, they will be in Gjoa Haven, where they are scheduled to meet with Etienne Desbois and Philippe Voghel. With two new members to our all-star team, they will eventually begin the canoe section of the expedition.

Make sure to follow along on our social media accounts, @Naakbars to stay up to date with any breaking news and photos from Expedition AKOR. Be sure to read more about the team on our previous Blog Posts.

Visit expeditionakor.com to read more about the teams’ journey, or follow them on Instagram @expeditionakor.